Systems and methods for wire feed speed control

ABSTRACT

A welding system including a fine tuning knob and a coarse adjustment knob for setting a weld wire feed speed are provided. The welding system may include a welder having the coarse adjustment knob and a spool gun having the fine tuning knob. A user may adjust the knob on the welder to set a coarse adjustment wire feed speed and may adjust the knob on the spool gun to fine tune the wire feed speed setting.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Non-Provisional patent application of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/186,177, entitled “Spool GunAutoset Feature”, filed Jun. 11, 2009, which is herein incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates generally to welding systems, and, moreparticularly, to wire feed speed control systems and methods.

Welding is a process that has increasingly become ubiquitous in variousindustries and applications. While such processes may be automated incertain contexts, a large number of applications continue to exist formanual welding operations. Such welding operations rely on a variety ofcontrol schemes to ensure the supply of welding consumables (e.g., wirefeed, shielding gas, etc.) is provided to the weld in an appropriateamount at the desired time. For example, metal inert gas (MIG) weldingrelies on a proper wire feed speed to prevent weld splatter and arcoutage.

To ensure that the wire feed speed is properly set for a given weldingapplication, so-called “auto-set” welding systems have been developed.These systems provide greatly enhanced convenience by automaticallysetting certain parameters, such as wire feed speed, depending upon asimple user selection of a type of welding wire being used. However,such systems are often limited by substantial tolerances between motorson comparable spool guns. Such limitations may lead to welding undernon-optimal conditions due to wire feed speeds that are outside theoptimal range for the given welding operation, owing to the naturaltolerances of the wire drive motors (and related components). Moreover,in such auto-set arrangements, and in conventional systems where anoperator sets the desired wire feed speed, there is typically little orno ability to “fine tune” the wire feed speed actually obtained.Accordingly, there exists a need for systems that address suchshortcomings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In an exemplary embodiment, a welding system is provided that includes awelding power supply including a first input configured to be adjustedby an operator to set a first wire feed speed parameter. The weldingsystem also includes a spool gun adapted to be coupled to the weldingpower supply and having a second input configured to be adjusted by anoperator to set a second wire feed speed parameter. One of the firstwire feed speed parameter and the second wire feed speed parameter is acoarse adjustment and the other one of the first wire feed speedparameter and the second wire feed speed parameter is a fine adjustment.

In another embodiment, a welding system is provided that includes awelding power supply having a control panel having a first potentiometerconfigured to be adjusted by an operator to choose a first feature or asecond feature. The power supply is adapted to enter an auto-set modewhen the first feature or the second feature is chosen by the operator.The welding system also includes a spool gun having a secondpotentiometer configured to be adjusted by an operator to fine tune acoarse wire feed speed set by the auto-set mode of the welding powersupply.

In another embodiment, a controller for a welding system is provided.The controller is configured to receive a first input from a firstpotentiometer located on a welding power supply. The controller isfurther configured to receive a second input from a second potentiometerlocated on a spool gun, wherein one of the first input and the secondinput is a coarse adjustment setting for a wire feed speed and the otherone of the first input and the second input is a fine adjustment settingfor the wire feed speed. The controller is also configured to output asignal to a motor control board that is configured to adjust the wirefeed speed of a wire spool according to the first input and the secondinput.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary welding system including awelder with a coarse wire feed speed adjustment and a spool gun with afine adjustment in accordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components of thewelder and the spool gun of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary control panel that may be located on awelder in accordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary spool gun with a fineadjustment in accordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary method of operating the welding system of FIG. 1to set a wire feed speed in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary method of operating a welder in conjunction witha spool gun to set a wire feed speed in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described in detail below, embodiments are provided of a weldingsystem including a fine tuning adjustment and a coarse adjustment forsetting a weld wire feed speed. In one embodiment, the welding systemmay include an auto-set mode capable welder having the coarse adjustmentbased on a user selected wire type, and a spool gun having the finetuning adjustment. In such an embodiment, the user may trigger an onsetof the auto-set mode by rotating a coarse adjustment knob to a weld wirediameter panel. If an auto-set feature is provided, the welder thendetermines an appropriate coarse wire feed speed output based on theinput weld wire diameter and material thickness. The user may thenadjust a fine tuning knob located on the spool gun to fine tune the wirefeed speed. That is, the user may adjust a knob or other input device onthe welder to set a coarse adjustment wire feed speed and then adjustanother input device on the spool gun to fine tune the wire feed speedsetting. Such embodiments may offer advantages over traditional systemsthat allow the user to adjust a coarse wire feed speed, typically asingle adjustment, via a knob located on the spool gun. For example,because the tolerance (i.e., rotational speed versus input commandsignal) between spool gun motors can often be significant, traditionalsystems may make it difficult for an operator to achieve an optimal wirefeed speed by adjusting a coarse knob on the spool gun. Embodiments ofthe present invention, however, may facilitate achievement of an optimalwire feed speed setting since the coarse adjustment may be located onthe welder, and a fine tuning adjustment may be located on the spoolgun.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary weldingsystem 10 which powers, controls, and provides supplies to a weldingoperation. The welding system 10 includes a welder 12 having a controlpanel 14 through which a welding operator may control the supply ofwelding materials, such as gas flow, wire feed, and so forth, to a spoolgun 16. The control panel 14 includes a first knob 18 (or other inputdevice) that the operator may use to adjust the voltage or input amaterial thickness. The panel 14 also includes a second knob 20 that maybe adjusted to manually set a wire feed speed or to place the welder inan auto-set mode. That is, the operator may place the welder 12 in anauto-set mode such that a controller determines an appropriate coarsewire feed speed for the given welding operation based on the input wirediameter. When the operator places the welder 12 in the auto-set mode,the wire feed speed may be fine tuned via a potentiometer 22 (or otherinput device) located on the spool gun 16.

The welder 12 may also include a tray 24 mounted on a back of the welder12 and configured to support a gas cylinder 26 held in place with achain 28. The gas cylinder 26 may be the source of gas that supplies thespool gun 16. To that end, a gas hose 30 may couple the gas cylinder 26to the spool gun 16. The spool gun 16 may also couple to the welder 12via a weld cable 32 and a gun trigger plug 34. The welder 12 may also beportable via a set of smaller front wheels 36 and a set of larger backwheels 38, which enable the operator to move the welding system 10 tothe location of the weld.

It should be noted that modifications to the exemplary welding system 10of FIG. 1 may be made in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention. For example, the tray 24 may be eliminated from the welder 12and the gas cylinder 26 may be located on an auxiliary support cart orin a location remote from the welding operation. Furthermore, althoughthe illustrated embodiments are described in the context of a constantvoltage MIG welding process, the features of the invention may beutilized with any welding process or system that utilizes a spool gun.It should also be noted that, although reference is made in the presentdiscussion to “knobs” or to “potentiometers” for adjustment of the wirefeed speed, a range of other input devices may be envisaged, such asbuttons, momentary contact switches, and so forth, that may interfacewith input and/or control circuitry to provide the coarse and fineadjustments discussed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram 40 further illustrating components of thewelding system 10 of FIG. 1. The block diagram 40 illustrates componentsthat may be located in the welder 12 as well as internal components ofthe spool gun 16. Specifically, the welder 12 may include the controlpanel 14 having the first potentiometer 18 and the second potentiometer20 that may be adjusted to set the voltage/material thickness and thecoarse wire feed speed, respectively. As the operator adjusts thepotentiometers 18 and 20, signals encoding the input data aretransmitted to processing circuitry 42. The processing circuitry 42 mayalso receive other inputs 44 (e.g., desired amperage, welding processtype, etc.), which are processed with the inputs from the potentiometers18 and 20. Additionally, the processing circuitry 42 may receive aninput from interface circuitry 46 that communicates information from thespool gun 16 to the welder 12 regarding operation and inputs receivedvia one or more potentiometers located on the spool gun 16.

The processing circuitry 42 is further associated with memory circuitry48 which may be utilized by the processing circuitry 42 to storeinformation for future retrieval. To that end the memory circuitry 48may include volatile or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory(ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic storage memory, opticalstorage memory, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, a variety ofcontrol parameters may be stored in the memory along with codeconfigured to provide a specific output to the user during operation(e.g., output signal guiding coarse wire feed speed for given inputs).Accordingly, the processing circuitry 42 may be adapted to receive avariety of inputs 14, 44, and 46, access the memory circuitry 48 todetermine an appropriate output signal based on its inputs, and outputthe appropriate signal to a wire feed motor controller 50.

The wire feed motor controller 50 outputs a first signal 52 to a firstwire spool 54 located in the welder 12 and a second signal 56 to a motor58 for a second wire spool 60 located in the spool gun 16. In someembodiments, the first wire spool 54 may be adapted to supply steel wireand the second wire spool 60 may be adapted to supply aluminum wire.Furthermore, the first wire spool 54 may be substantially larger thanthe second wire spool 60, which is configured for use in the spool gun16. The processing circuitry 42 may be further configured to selectivelyactivate the correct wire spool for the desired welding operation. Ifthe first wire spool 54 is activated, a first wire feed 62 is fedthrough a wire feed mechanism 64 to the spool gun 16 via a conduit 66.If the second wire spool 60 is activated, a second wire feed 68 is fedto the weld from the spool gun 16.

The welder 12 also includes power conversion circuitry 70 that isconfigured to receive incoming power (e.g., from the grid, anengine/generator, a battery, a fuel cell, etc., or combinations thereof)and to condition the incoming power to an appropriate output. The powerconversion circuitry 70 provides conditioned power to the spool gun viacable 72. A ground clamp 74 extends from the power conversion circuitry70 in the welder 12 to the location of the weld to complete the circuitbetween the power supply and the workpiece. Additionally, the welder 12may include a gas supply 76 that supplies gas to the spool gun 16 viacable 30.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary control panel 14 that may be located onthe welder 12 in some embodiments. The control panel 14 includes thefirst potentiometer 18, the second potentiometer 20, a temperatureindicator 78, and an auto-set indicator 80. The first potentiometer 18includes a knob 82, a voltage panel 84, and a material thickness panel86. The second potentiometer 20 includes a knob 88, a wire speed panel90, and an auto-set wire diameter panel 92. Taken together, thecomponents of the control panel 14 facilitate the adjustment of avariety of weld parameters.

During use, the first potentiometer 18 allows the operator to controlthe voltage of the welding process during manual operation and set thematerial thickness during auto-set mode. Specifically, to adjust thevoltage of the welding process during manual welding, the operator mayturn the knob 82 clockwise around the voltage panel 84 to increase theweld voltage level and counterclockwise to decrease the weld voltagelevel. When in auto-set mode, the operator may rotate the knob 82clockwise around the auto-set material thickness panel 86 from 22 gageto ⅜″ to the applicable material thickness. After the user has rotatedthe knob 82 to the appropriate material thickness, the welder 12 willoutput an appropriate coarse voltage within the range of the selectedmaterial thickness and the weld wire diameter, as discussed in moredetail below.

The second potentiometer 20 allows the operator to control the wire feedspeed during manual operation and to place the welder 12 in auto-setmode when desired. For example, during manual operation, the operatormay turn the knob 88 counterclockwise from 10 to 100 to increase thewire feed speed and clockwise from 100 to 10 to decrease the wire feedspeed. To place the welder 12 in auto-set mode, the user may rotate theknob 88 to a first subpanel 94 or a second subpanel 96 of the auto-setwire diameter panel 92. After turning the knob to the auto-set wirediameter panel 92, the auto-set indicator 80 illuminates, and the welder12 provides an appropriate coarse wire feed speed for the wire diameterselected via the second potentiometer 20 and the material thicknessselected via the first potentiometer 18. If the welder 12 overheats atany point during operation, the temperature indicator 78 illuminates andoutput ceases. In this way, the first potentiometer 18 and the secondpotentiometer 20 cooperatively function to allow the user to place thewelder 12 in auto-set mode, input the applicable wire diameter, and setthe appropriate material thickness. The welder 12 uses such inputs tooutput an appropriate voltage and a coarse wire feed speed for the givenwelding operation.

It should be noted that where an auto-set mode is available, this is aparticularly convenient mechanism for determining and setting the coarse(or base) wire feed speed. However, some welders will not be equippedwith such automatic wire feed speed determination. Those welders maynevertheless benefit from aspects of the techniques described herein.That is, a coarse (or base) wire feed speed may be set manually and afine adjustment made above or below this coarse setting as describedbelow. In practice, the manual setting may be input via a potentiometerinput device, a keypad, or any other suitable interface.

FIG. 4 illustrates the spool gun 16 of FIG. 1 in more detail. The spoolgun 16 includes a first outer shell 98 that houses a wire spool and asecond outer shell 100 that houses other internal components of thespool gun 16, such as an inlet guide, a roll assembly, and so forth. Insome embodiments, the outer shell 98 may house an aluminum wire spool.The spool gun 16 also includes a handle 102 with a trigger 104. Duringoperation, a user may press the trigger 104 to start shielding gas flowand begin a wire feed. The wire feed exits the spool gun 16 via a barrel106 and a contact tip 108 encased in a nozzle 110.

The spool gun 16 also includes an input device, such as thepotentiometer 22 discussed above. In some embodiments, the potentiometer22 may be associated with a fine tuning knob that the operator mayadjust to fine tune the coarse wire feed speed set by the welder 12 whenthe auto-set mode is chosen (or when the coarse setting is manuallyinput). That is, in auto-set mode, the coarse wire feed speed may beautomatically set by the welder 12 when the user chooses the auto-setweld wire diameter option on the control panel 14. However, the user maythen manually fine tune the wire feed speed by turning the potentiometer22 located on the spool gun 16. In one embodiment, the fine tuning ofthe wire feed speed may allow the operator to adjust the wire feed speedbetween approximately 180-220 inches per minute, although any range maybe used. Moreover, the fine tuning may simply adjust the wire feed speedwithin a range somewhat above and/or somewhat below whatever coarseadjustment is set.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method 112 of operating the illustratedspool gun 16 in conjunction with the illustrated control panel 14. Themethod 112 includes adjusting the first potentiometer on the welder toset the material thickness for the given welding operation (block 114).The method 112 also includes adjusting the second potentiometer on thewelder to activate the auto-set feature for the appropriate weld wirediameter (block 116). That is, the user may adjust the firstpotentiometer and the second potentiometer to manually input thematerial thickness and weld wire diameter for the given welding process,and the welder will automatically output the appropriate voltage andcoarse wire feed speed based on such inputs. The method 112 alsoincludes adjusting the potentiometer on the spool gun to fine tune thewire feed speed (block 118). The method 112 includes a welding step(block 120) during which the user may test the wire feed speed setting.If the wire feed speed is appropriate for the welding operation, theuser may continue welding. If the wire feed speed needs furtheradjustment, the user may readjust the potentiometer on the spool gun tofurther fine tune the wire feed speed (block 122). That is, the user mayfine tune the wire feed speed proximate to the weld without having toreturn to the welder to adjust a knob.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate method 124 of operating an embodiment ofthe present invention in which the locations of the potentiometers ofthe welder and the spool gun are interchanged with respect to theembodiment of FIG. 1. That is, the potentiometers 18 and 20 may belocated on the spool gun 16 and the potentiometer 22 may be located onthe welder 12. In this embodiment, the method 124 includes adjusting thefirst potentiometer on the spool gun to set the material thickness forthe welding application (block 126). The method 124 also includesadjusting the second potentiometer on the spool gun to activate theauto-set feature and set the wire diameter (block 128). That is, thematerial thickness and the wire diameter are set on the spool gun inthis embodiment. The method 124 further includes adjusting thepotentiometer on the welder to fine tune the wire feed speed (block130). Whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the weld wire feed speed wasfine tuned via a knob on the spool gun, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, thefine tuning of the wire speed is controlled via a knob on the welder.The method 124 also includes the welding step (block 120) andreadjustment of the potentiometer on the welder to optimize the finetuning of the wire feed speed if desired (block 132).

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a similar method isemployed when the welder does not have an auto-set feature. That is, thewelding operator may set a coarse adjustment, such as by an input deviceon the welder or power supply. Thereafter, a fine adjustment (e.g.,slightly above, slightly below, or both) with respect to this coarseadjustment may be made on the spool gun (or vice versa) as described.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications and changes will occur to thoseskilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appendedclaims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fallwithin the true spirit of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A welding system, comprising: a weldingpower supply comprising a first adjustment configured to be adjusted byan operator to set a first wire feed speed parameter; a spool gunadapted to be coupled to the welding power supply and comprising asecond adjustment configured to be adjusted by an operator to set asecond wire feed speed parameter; a voltage adjustment configured to beadjusted by the operator to set a weld voltage level, wherein thevoltage adjustment is separate from the first adjustment and the secondadjustment; and wherein one of the first wire feed speed parameter andthe second wire feed speed parameter is a coarse adjustment and theother of the first wire feed speed parameter and the second wire feedspeed parameter is a fine tuning adjustment.
 2. The welding system ofclaim 1, wherein the first wire feed speed parameter is a coarse wirefeed speed and the second wire feed speed parameter is a fine tuned wirefeed speed.
 3. The welding system of claim 1, comprising a trayconfigured to hold a gas cylinder and a securement apparatus configuredto secure the gas cylinder against the welding power supply.
 4. Thewelding system of claim 1, wherein the welding power supply comprising athird adjustment configured to be adjusted by an operator to set amaterial thickness.
 5. The welding system of claim 1, wherein the spoolgun is configured to house an aluminum wire spool that is configured toprovide a wire feed through a contact tip of the spool gun.
 6. Thewelding system of claim 1, wherein the welding power supply comprisesprocessing circuitry that is configured to receive and process dataencoding the first wire feed speed parameter and the second wire feedspeed parameter.
 7. The welding system of claim 6, comprising a wirefeed speed motor controller disposed in the welding power supply andconfigured to output a data signal encoding instructions for a wire feedspeed to one or more wire spools.
 8. A welding system, comprising: awelding power supply comprising a control panel having a first inputconfigured to be adjusted by an operator to choose between a firstfeature and a second feature, and a voltage input configured to beadjusted by the operator to set a weld voltage level, wherein the powersupply is adapted to enter an auto-set mode when the first feature orthe second feature is chosen by the operator; and a spool gun comprisinga second input configured to be adjusted by an operator to fine tune acoarse wire feed speed set by the auto-set mode of the welding powersupply, wherein the voltage input is separate from the first input andthe second input.
 9. The welding system of claim 8, wherein the firstfeature comprises a first wire size and the second feature comprises asecond wire size.
 10. The welding system of claim 8, wherein the weldingpower supply comprises a third input configured to be adjusted by anoperator to set a material thickness.
 11. The welding system of claim 8,wherein the spool gun houses an aluminum wire spool.
 12. The weldingsystem of claim 8, wherein the second input is configured to fine tunethe coarse wire feed speed such that a welding wire feed speed isadjusted between approximately 180-220 inches per minute.
 13. Thewelding system of claim 8, wherein the spool gun comprises a motorconfigured to drive a wire spool housed in the spool gun.
 14. Thewelding system of claim 13, comprising a wire feed motor controllerlocated in the welding power supply and configured to output a datasignal encoding wire feed speed instructions to the motor.
 15. Acontroller for a welding system configured to: receive a first inputfrom a first input device located on a welding power supply; receive asecond input from a second input device located on a spool gun, whereinone of the first input and the second input is a coarse adjustmentsetting for a wire feed speed and the other one of the first input andthe second input is a fine adjustment setting for the wire feed speed;receive a voltage input from a voltage adjustment device separate fromthe first input device and the second input device; and output a signalto a motor control board that is configured to adjust the wire feedspeed of a wire spool according to the first input and the second input.16. The controller for a welding system of claim 15 configured toreceive a third input from a third input device located on the weldingpower supply or the spool gun and output the signal based on the firstinput, the second input, and the third input.
 17. The controller for awelding system of claim 16, wherein the third input is a materialthickness.
 18. The controller for a welding system of claim 15 furtherconfigured to access memory circuitry for the storage and retrieval ofdata.
 19. The controller for a welding system of claim 15 furtherconfigured to receive an additional input regarding at least one of adesired amperage or type of welding process.
 20. The controller for awelding system of claim 15, wherein the wire feed speed is the speed ofan aluminum wire being fed to a weld from a wire spool located insidethe spool gun.
 21. A welding system, comprising: a welding power supply;a welding gun adapted to be coupled to the welding power supply; andwherein a first adjustment configured to be adjusted by an operator toset a coarse wire feed speed is located on one of the welding powersupply and the welding gun, a second adjustment configured to beadjusted by the operator to fine tune the wire feed speed is located onthe other of the welding power supply and the welding gun not having thefirst adjustment, and a voltage adjustment separate from the first andsecond adjustments and configured to be adjusted by the operator to seta weld voltage level is located on the welding power supply.
 22. Thewelding system of claim 21, wherein the welding power supply comprises athird adjustment configured to be adjusted by an operator to set amaterial thickness.